The concept of sustainable development and sustainable management of natural resources in Africa through the German development cooperation. Case study: Benin, Cameroon, Namibia

Abstract

The relation between Germany and Africa dates far back to centuries. Germany has developed colonial and cooperation with several African countries in several domains. Since the colonial period, Germany had already launched her environmental management policies, which, according to the investigation of this research, are in strong accordance with global environmental discourse.The first sequence of this work investigates the global environmental discourse and, relying on global governance theories and concepts, analyzes the main important Earth Summits over forty decades. Based on Foucault concepts of governmentality and biopower, this analysis points out how the global governance strategies have succeeded to conduct the conduct of African governments and has got a strong influence on people s behavior and access to their natural resources.The second sequence of this work highlights the co-relations between Germany s colonial environmental discourse and the global environmental one and analyzes Germany s introduction and adaptation of the global discourse in the frame of development cooperation with Africa.Focussing on Benin, Cameroon and Namibia, this work has analyzed how African governments have struggled to adapt not only global environmental discourse but also development ones. The strengths and weaknesses of their adaptations policies, programs and activities as well as the consequences on people s life and finally the German position first of all to the global discourse and secondly to the domestic policies are studied in the frame of the in-case study.Finally, this study raises the different challenges related to natural resources management in the frame of domestic challenges and later on African position towards global environmental agendas.